‘The public have asked us to take away party politics and come forward with ideas’
We continue our focus on members of the cabinet at South Kesteven District Council this week with Paul Stokes, member for leisure and culture.
Councillor Stokes won his seat on the district council at the local elections in May and became a councillor for the first time after working as a council officer with SKDC for 28 years. He also has a background as a chartered surveyor.
Coun Stokes was born in Bourne and started his career in Stamford before moving to live in the Arnoldfield area of Grantham in 1975, the area he now represents on the council as a Grantham Independent.
He started in Property Services at SKDC and then moved into leisure and then arts and culture by 2012. He was in charge when the Olympic torch passed through Grantham, Stamford, Bourne and the Deepings and then became involved in Gravity Fields and the Georgian Festival. He ended his time at the council in facilities management.
How have you found the move from working at the council to becoming a councillor?
I think a lot of councillors don’t understand the services. I appreciate there’s a potential for me to overknow them and I have to make sure I step back from being an officer, but I do feel the knowledge of the coalface is very, very helpful in the role I do. I am very aligned to the district. I was born in Bourne and I went to school there. I started work in Stamford, I have a lot of friends in Deeping and then I moved to Grantham in 1975. I think it has been of a significant benefit without a shadow of a doubt. I have been lucky to be put forward for cabinet as member for leisure and culture , but when they talk about something on housing I understand it or a planning matter then I know what they are talking about. My wish is to pass some of that experience on to new councillors or councillors in new positions. It was the Grantham Independents who said we want you to be the cabinet member for leisure and culture. They are a fantastic group with Ian Selby as our leader. It was a nice surprise really because a) we got in and b) it as something that I knew and had a serious passion for in terms of our leisure centres and our art centres, and parks also come within that.
How well is the cabinet working so far?
Everybody on the cabinet is a new member working very well together. I think we have a good mix of new councillors, young councillors and experienced councillors, and people with business experience which I think is a critical thing. I think we have got what the public wanted and the public have asked us to take away party politics, get together and come forward with ideas. I genuinely think the cabinet is working well together. I am aligned to the Grantham Independents and I represent Grantham Arnoldfield, I live in Grantham Arnoldfield and I want to strongly represent Grantham. I will not forget my roots and it was a really proud thing to be able to open the Gonerby Hill Foot play area. I am one of the Grantham Independents who have pledged to do whatever we can to improve things for Grantham. I don’t lose sight of that. I want to thank my colleagues from Grantham Independents for the way we worked together through the election and are now doing so in administration. It’s just refreshing. We pledged we would be open and transparent in what we do. I want the poeple who voted for me to know every way I vote. So, more opennesss on the voting. I want them to know what I voted for and if they do agree come and see me. When I am cutting the grass at home they can come and talk to me. If you live in the ward you have a feel for that ward. Working in the cabinet I have to look wider and I do that but I won’t forget I am representing the people of Arnoldfield. When I do look wider, I do feel my knowledge of the towns both from a working capacity and a lifetime in the district is a big help.
What are your priorities as cabinet member for leisure and culture?
The one thing that has been on the agenda for a few years is the cultural strategy which was passed through cabinet last week. It focuses very heavily on items which came through the public consultation. We need to see more investment in getting young people into the arts centres as well as the pretty good progammes you have got for the more mature generations. I think it’s a question of getting that mix right, but probably putting a bit more emphasis on shows for the younger people. At the Grantham and Stamford centres they do the discos for young people so there is lots of opportunity to do that. At Grantham the pantomime is incredibly successful and the schools all like to come so we do hit it in many ways but it needs to be on a more on-going basis. The young people are the future of the centres and we need them come through the doors. Another big focus on the cultural strategy across the district is to help other people generate events so where somebody steps forward saying we want to do this we will help in the pre-planning and in any way possible. We can help them in terms of potential grant applications, community fund applications and in guiding and advising on risk assessments. People perhaps don’t see the amount of work that goes in prior to an event. One thing I would really stress is the work of volunteers. I am really aware that we have volunteers in the arts centres, in the parks etc, but not only that I think we need to show total appreciation for what they do and at the same time help guide them. A typical example is that volunteers put the funding together through a grant application for the Gonerby Hill Foot play area that we opened the other week. The passion that they have shown is unreal so I am looking at how we thank and appreciate volunteers and work with volunteers across the district. Having worked at SKDC, I also know the council has got some fantastic staff and we need to make sure we do what we can to keep them, that mixture of experience and youth that they have got.
A number of festivals including Gravity Fields, the Georgian Festival and the CiCLE Festival in Bourne have been cancelled because the council cannot support them financially. What can the council do to promote district-wide leisure and cultural events?
SKDC has made its point and we should be there to help facilitate what people are putting on. It would be nice for Gravity Fields to come back. There are other groups doing great things, but of course they aren’t as big as Gravity. It needs groups to get involved to help Gravity. The CiCLE event was a costly thing to do for the actual outcome. It did not have the outcome in visitors to the town like Gravity Fields or the Georgian Festival. However, I am aware that they are looking to at the viability to put something on in Bourne, not as big but something with maybe the help of a community grant. They need to have a business case for that. It’s something we would rightfully advise upon. In Bourne, the Corn Exchange is a fantastic venue and I think to some extent it’s a hidden jewel. Some people say it’s just a large community hall. Well, it is but where else do people go for weddings in Bourne? I know it’s a popular wedding venue, with a stage and room for 180 people standing. They are very successful with Sunday dinners there. When people were slow to go to restaurants after Covid, they were putting on these dinners which are incredibly popular because people like the venue. That’s a place with great potential for hire.
What is the current situation with our leisure centres?
The Deepings is a tricky one. The county council is going through a process in terms of what they want to do with the land and the building and the Deepings Community Trust are looking at that as it unfolds in terms of the opportunity for them to take it and run it. All the leisure centres are run by LeisureSK and that contract runs until December 2024. We have got to look at our options and the potential extension of that contract. To me LeisureSK are successful in the way they manage Bourne, Stamford and Grantham. There are hundreds of thousands go though the Grantham centre whether it is for swimming or something else. Some will complain about the temperature of the pool and say it’s too cold for me, then those swimmers who are racing will say its too warm. It’s a case of trying to find that right temperature which is also energy-efficient of course.
What would you like to see being achieved in arts and culture in the district in the near future?
I am focused on the fact that we have a cultural strategy which has been well bought into, but there is no point in having a list of aims and that’s it, thank you, we will write another one in three years’ time. I want us to achieve what we have written we are going to do and have some good examples of what we have done. I think taking the arts to the rural areas is a key thing for me. It’s nice to have a Guildhall Arts Centre but we have got to find ways of taking those activities to the rural areas. And one of the successful things that we do is Music in Quiet Places at the churches. The churches are very keen to work with the community. We could develop that.
Can people expect a much better Christmas display in Grantham this year given the poor display last year?
I know there are a lot of people looking for something really good, given what happened last year. I would say that the team that did the market did eveything they could with what they had available. A lot of people really liked it, but they didn’t like it when the lights were switched on. The council realised they had to do something and I think we have. Bourne and Stamford do their own thing because they have their town councils. The lights will be bigger and bolder. So to me, for the people of Grantham I think that is very very important.
